The Great Ghats..

A ghat is a set of stairs that leads to a pond or a river,especially a holy body of water.

Varanasi feels immense pride In having its cluster of ghats which are popular throughout the world.

Having Eighty-seven very popular Ghats of which Dashashwamedh Ghat, Manikarnika Ghat, Harishchandra ghat ,Assi ghat are some of the star-Ghats with most popularity in Varanasi.

Each ghat has got its own history and some of the more popular ones have names based on personalities who have contributed significantly in specific fields, like the Tulsidas ghat which is named after Tulsidas for his outstanding literary work, Ramcharitramanas.

The most active ghat is the Dashashwamedh ghat which has several celebrations as it leads directly to the Kashi Vishwanath temple.

Various ceremonies on the ghats are performed by men who are strong devotees of Lord Shiva and are called Aghoris or Naga Sadhhus!

The walls of the ghats are often sketched, painted or drawn graffiti on depicting various stories of Lord Shiva.